Two Gophers from Texas
Two Gophers from Texas is a 1948 Merrie Melodies short starring the Goofy Gophers, directed by Arthur Davis and produced by Eddie Selzer. Mel Blanc voiced the unnamed dog and Mac, while an uncredited Stan Freberg voiced Tosh. It would be the last Goofy Gophers cartoon produced before Davis' unit was disbanded, and the first time that the Gophers would appear brown and tan. Title The title is a pun on Two Guys From Texas, a comedy released earlier that year from Warner Brothers, although the short has nothing to do with Texas. Plot An unnamed dog (who also appeared in The Goofy Gophers) is reading a book and decides to seek wild game, which happens to come in the form of the Goofy Gophers. After trying to get them, only to see the Gophers dive into their hole and then overrun the hole and off a cliff, the dog (upside down, hanging off a tree) discovers four ways to get a gopher: *'The canny hunter would remember that gophers possess an enormous curiosity concerning strange or unfamiliar objects': To this end, the dog places a spring with a punching glove attached to it in a chest. When the Gophers, after deciding to ignore the "Do Not Open until Xmas" sticker, open it, they "see" jewelry in it and take the chest with them. The dog takes the chest away from the Gophers and opens it, only to be punched below his chin, as he bounces like a pogo stick. *'Gophers are quite fond of fresh vegetables which can therefore be used as bait to trap them': The dog, knowing that the Gophers are vegetarians, plants a row of radishes in the ground along with a turnip at the end of the row that is booby-trapped to an overhanging rock tied around a nearby tree, which the dog tests with a ball, triggering the trap successfully. Naturally, the Gophers pick up all of the radishes, and after initial trouble, take the turnip---but the trap is not triggered this time. The dog then holds the string, but triggers the trap and is crushed. *'The gopher is a sentimental little creature whose feelings may be played upon to your advantage': The dog disguises himself as a baby under the alias of "Little Snookie", places himself in a booby-trapped carriage (complete with a letter stating that "Little Snookie" is an abandoned, homeless waif, as pictured on the page below), with his cries quickly noticed by the Gophers. The Gophers initially considered feeding the baby or changing its diaper (since according to them these are the two things that could help stop babies cry) but after discovering the booby trap under the dog (which includes a gun, rifle, bomb, and grenade), the Gophers push the carriage up a hill (disguised as a good deed of taking the baby out for a walk), and then release the carriage with the dog in it down the cliff on the other side, leaving the dog howling as he goes over several hills and vertically down a second cliff, where he crashes. As the dog claims that the Gophers missed his inner strength, the dog then falls down, stiff as a board. *'If all else fails ("And it has" as the previous three gags did fail), you must utilize the gophers' love of music': The dog begins playing what amounts to a one-man band of music, drawing the Gophers' attention as they start dancing to the music. The dog unsuccessfully tries to crush them with cymbals and a banjo that also doubles as a gun, but does drag them to the drums using a trumpet. As the dog tries to crush the gophers on the drums, they evade him and the dog and Gophers end up in the piano, where the Gophers have the dog "trapped like a rat in a trap", as the Gophers then hop all over the piano keys. Hammers attacked to various keys hit the dog in his rear end as the cartoon concludes with the dog regretting having ever read the book, stating "EGAD! WHAT A BOOK! FAH!!!!" Gallery 'Lobby Cards' 'Screencaps' 'Title Cards' Availability *Laserdisc - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Volume 4, Side 4: Cartoon All-Stars Trivia Recreated Titles Recreated titles are known to existhttp://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3anjns_two-gophers-from-texas-1948_fun References External links * Category:Merrie Melodies shorts Category:Merrie Melodies Category:The Goofy Gophers Category:Goofy Gophers shorts Category:Mac and Tosh Category:Mac and Tosh shorts Category:Directed by Arthur Davis Category:Blue Ribbon Category:Blue Ribbon shorts Category:1940s shorts Category:1940s films Category:1940s Category:Looney Tunes Category:Looney Tunes shorts Category:Vitaphone short films Category:1948 films Category:1948 shorts Category:Shorts Category:Films Category:Animated shorts Category:Best Short Academy Award winners Category:Warner Bros. Animation Category:Warner Bros. Cartoons Category:Cartoons directed by Arthur Davis Category:Story by Lloyd Turner Category:Written by Lloyd Turner Category:Cartoons written by Lloyd Turner Category:Story by William Scott Category:Written by William Scott Category:Cartoons written by William Scott Category:Story by Lloyd Turner and William Scott Category:Written by Lloyd Turner and William Scott Category:Cartoons written by Lloyd Turner and William Scott Category:Animation by Basil Davidovich Category:Animated by Basil Davidovich Category:Cartoons animated by Basil Davidovich Category:Animation by Don Williams Category:Animated by Don Williams Category:Cartoons animated by Don Williams Category:Animation by J.C. Melendez Category:Animated by J.C. Melendez Category:Cartoons animated by J.C. Melendez Category:Animation by Emery Hawkins Category:Animated by Emery Hawkins Category:Cartoons animated by Emery Hawkins Category:Layouts by Don Smith Category:Backgrounds by Philip DeGuard Category:Cartoon layouts by Don Smith Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Philip DeGuard Category:Film Editing by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with sound effects by Treg Brown Category:Voice Characterizations by Mel Blanc Category:Voiced by Mel Blanc Category:Voices by Mel Blanc Category:Cartoons with voices by Mel Blanc Category:Voice Characterizations by Stan Freberg Category:Voiced by Stan Freberg Category:Voices by Stan Freberg Category:Cartoons with voices by Stan Freberg Category:Music by Carl Stalling Category:Musical Direction by Carl Stalling Category:Cartoons with music by Carl Stalling Category:1948